Zardoz

1974. 105 minutes. Rated R.
Quote: The gun is good. The penis is evil.

Do you like Sean Connery, adult diapers, weapons, giant floating heads, psychedelic drugs or dystopias? Why not? Okay, if you like even a few of those things, have I got a movie for YOU. Now, Sean Connery has already been raised to cult status, but this gonzo film truly has to be seen to be believed, and deserves a status of its very own. But just what kind of status? Cult? Trash? Insane John Boorman movie of yesteryear that makes even the most staid teetotaler seem like they just drank something from a medical marijuana dispensary? Probably. Arriving on DVD in 2001 (I bought it right away, judge me if you will), this movie fits the glut of science fiction films that littered the 1970s, and brings many of those real-world elements to play in the costumes, set design and facial hair.

Zardoz - 20th Century Fox

Zardoz – 20th Century Fox

Now every movie, especially of the science fiction bent, seems a product of its time, but most at least attempt to differentiate themselves from the world in which they were created. Not Zardoz. This self-indulgent societal send-up borders continually on the absurd, but can be amazingly thoughtful and piercingly insightful at times. The details really shine through the haze of insane visual effects and strange dialogue, making this film a great experience for the viewer who loves a fully-realized world. A prime example of this can be found in one memorable scene where the sound seems clipped and the audio fades in and out to appear as if the character is speaking another language. If you’re like me, you went to see if your audio connection had dropped, but no, it is simply the language of a people who are telepathic and thus have created a verbal shorthand.

Deeper meanings aside, let’s take a moment to reflect on Zed (Connery), and his epic outfit: armed to the teeth and as pocket-less as the day is long.

But how did we get here (actually, not existentially)? The film opens in fine style with a loopy monologue delivered by the floating head of Arthur Frayn (Niall Buggy) that tells of a possible future in the year 2293. All of this is followed by a dreamy scene where a gigantic stone head sails between the clouds before closing in on a grassy plain which is writhing with red underwear-wearing men on horseback. Then it gets weird: we learn this future is split into two major classes: the Immortals and the Exterminators, the latter being those that worship the gigantic floating stone head they refer to as Zardoz. This God Head makes declarations to the Exterminators like the quote (way) above, then disgorges foodstuffs, weapons and great piles of ammunition from its great, stony maw.

From these clues it appears that the major function of the Exterminators is to keep the peace in the post-apocalyptic world of the Outlands by herding and culling the Brutals, the multitudinous common (and gun-less) rabble. The Exterminators also have the horses, and there are some vivid scenes in which they trample down Brutals and engage in cold-blooded killing and sexual assaulting, usually while wearing creepy red or white masks featuring the double-sided face of Zardoz. But the sole Exterminator Zed has another agenda and decides to stow away in a pile of grain inside of Zardoz, and is transported to a wholly different world, the world of the Immortals. These fey, pastel-wearing folk are entirely the opposite of the “savage” in their midst; cleaner, matriarchal, talkative, and doing all this with decidedly less killing and raping. They do not roam free, but live in sealed Vortices which seem to separate the two groups rather effectively.

Over time, Zed befriends the Immortal Friend (John Alderton) and learns of the other splinter groups of Immortals, exposing their many strengths and weaknesses. Zed soon discovers that he is simply an animal or object to the Immortals, and when brought in front of the Matriarch Consuella (Charlotte Rampling), she allows Zed to stay for research purposes, but gives him a very limited time frame. After that, he is to be destroyed.

Zed, being a clever beast, transforms over the length of the film, going from silent savage to insightful inciter, sowing the seeds of madness and destruction in his wake. The Exterminator, at once an Immortal object of curiosity, lust, and savior, has his own plans, and the sheer psychedelic insanity of Zardoz cannot even dent the degree to which this film takes itself seriously. It can throw all of the cheesy dialogue, crystals, telepathy, and red underwear it wants at you, but there is a strong undercurrent of a legitimate science fiction film here with something to say. Strong themes of immortality, the life-death cycle, dominance and destruction litter the flick, and director Boorman leaves plenty of clues, even wrapping up a great twist in there for good measure. It is the buried treasure that pleases viewers like me, and boy, does this film do it big. In the immortal words of the great God Head itself: “Zardoz is pleased.”

Author: Jason

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